Bobcat Speech and Debate open season

The Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate Team captured first place in the 1A/2A Sweepstakes at the Powell/Cody Speech and Debate Novice Tournament held at Powell High School on November 9. The Bobcats, coached by Lyle Wiley, Alyssa Brown, Riley Jeffs, and Markie Whitney, kicked off the season with six competing novice students, all of whom had impressive first-tournament results.

Sophomore Teancum Gevas finished as the tournament champion in two events: Impromptu Speaking and Humorous Interpretation. Gevas also captured third place in Informative Speaking with his speech about popular fantasy/science fiction writer, Brandon Sanderson.

Freshman Clayton Keller joined Gevas as a tournament champion in two events. Keller went 3-0 in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, winning first place, and he also won Extemporaneous Debate. Fellow freshman Wyatt Buck took third place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and second place in Extemporaneous Speaking.

Freshman Allyssa Hough took second place in Informative Speaking with her speech about mental health and manipulative social games. Hough also won second place with her Dramatic Interpretation piece, “H is for Hercules.”

Adding to the team success, sophomore Ava Dafoe tried out Congressional Debate for the first time and came out on top as the tournament champion, while Junior Natalie Keeney finished with a second place finish in her first rounds of Humorous Interpretation.

Varsity students joined the team at the tournament to help novices and judge events. Assistant Coach Alyssa Brown was impressed with the team’s performance. Brown said, “I am so proud of all the hard work our novices put into their first tournament! It was amazing to see the excitement grow for the events and tournaments. I loved seeing our varsity students really step up and offer amazing support and celebration for our new members. I can’t wait to see where this team takes us this year!”

Senior Kiesha Kraushaar said about the upcoming season, “I can't wait to see how everyone grows and create the best memories for my last year."

In his seventh year of coaching Bobcat Speech and Debate, Head Coach Lyle Wiley said about the team, “We have lots of novices who are coming out to try competing in Speech and Debate. Our team strength continues to rise, and the success of this small group of novices is exciting. Our varsity members are tremendous leaders for our novices, and we are looking forward to another great season.”

Next, the Bobcats will travel to Lovell for the Lovell/Rocky Novice Speech and Debate Tournament on November 16.